Get Paid to Stream Video of Yourself Playing Video Games at Twitch.tv

Type: Live Game Video Streaming

Best Website For: Watching Someone Play Video Games

Reason it's on The Best Sites:

Twitch.tv is a popular site that allows users to live stream their gaming experience and add commentary with their microphone. On Twitch.tv, you can get paid for streaming video of yourself playing video games.

Twitch.tv on

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10,000,000 - 50,000,000

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February 7, 2018

Be a part of the world’s leading live social video platform for gaming. With Twitch for Android, you can watch live streams of the video games and activities you love, and chat with streamers and other viewers, from anywhere, anytime. From League of Legends, to Overwatch, to live art demos, if it’s worth watching, it’s live on Twitch right now.

+ Live and recorded video of top video games, esports events, art, cooking, music, and more+ Interactive live shows by Xbox, Sony, Riot Games, Blizzard+ Completely unique programming like Bob Ross marathons and exclusive video game events + Full-featured live chat with one of the largest gaming communities in the world+ Dark mode quality for late-night viewing+ Simple, intuitive navigation that makes it easy to discover the content you care about most+ Mobile broadcasting, putting the ability to go live right in your hand at the touch of a button

For feedback and questions, please visit our support center https://help.twitch.tv

Twitch.tv on the iTunes Store

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17+

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February 05, 2018

Be a part of the world’s leading live social video platform for gaming. With Twitch for iPhone and iPad, you can watch live streams of the video games and activities you love, and chat with streamers and other viewers, from anywhere, anytime. From League of Legends, to Overwatch, to live art demos, if it’s worth watching, it’s live on Twitch right now.

+ Live and recorded video of top video games, esports events, art, cooking, music, and more
+ Interactive live shows by Xbox, Sony, Riot Games, Blizzard
+ Completely unique programming like Bob Ross marathons and exclusive video game events
+ Full-featured live chat with one of the largest gaming communities in the world
+ Dark mode quality for late-night viewing
+ Simple, intuitive navigation that makes it easy to discover the content you care about most
+ Mobile broadcasting, putting the ability to go live right in your hand at the touch of a button

For feedback and questions, please visit our support center https://help.twitch.tv

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Twitch Blog - Medium

Last year at TwitchCon, we shared with you a brand new way to connect with your community. Rooms are always-on, custom chat spaces available right on the channel page. Today, it’s available worldwide on web and mobile (desktop coming soon!).

Whether you want a room for spoilers, permanent sub-only chat, or even a room for moderators to sharpen their swords, rooms lets streamers set a topic and choose who has access. Plus it’s just like stream chat, all your badges and emotes carry over.

We’ve designed rooms to make offline chat better than ever. For example @mentions will notify the recipient making it easier than ever to keep the conversation going. And because rooms are built directly into the channel, it’s easy to get your entire community involved.

What’s happening and why should you care? Worry not! We’re here to Drop some knowledge.

If you’re unfamiliar, Drops are a quick and easy way to get in-game rewards just for watching the games you already watch on Twitch. In the past, we’ve partnered with game developers to enable Drops for games like Warframe, Quake Champions, Path of Exile, and Smite.

These events were super cool, and we’re absolutely doing more of them, but it hasn’t always been clear to viewers exactly when Drops are available and which games they’re available for. Today, that changes.

Drops notification on the Game Directory page.

Starting now, it’s super easy to see which games and channels have Drops activated. When you’re looking at the Game Directory page on desktop, games with Drops enabled will feature a Drops notification. The notification will appear on the game page and on a streamer’s channel page as well.

Drops notification on the channel page.

Cool. So, how do I get Drops?

To earn Drops on Twitch, you’ll need to link your game account with your Twitch account. After connecting your accounts, you’re automatically eligible for a chance to get Drops when you watch streams on Twitch.

Drops are completely customizable by the game developers, so every Drops program will be a little bit different. Developers can decide which items will drop, the frequency of the Drops, and which channels the Drops will be available on.

Head on over to the Game Directory page to see which games have Drops activated right now. And for all the information you could ever want to know about Drops, check out this trusty help article.

Roses are red, violets are actually purple — I mean seriously, why are we calling them blue? In the theme of Valentine’s Day we’re featuring streamer couples that have met on the internet and some more specifically on Twitch.

SybilQand HankQ share a love for deadlifts, tacos, and video games. Twitch allows them to not only share their love for these things with each other, but with their Qmmunity (get it?!) as well. Four nights a week, they lift in their home gym while answering fitness questions from chat. When the work out is done, they play Overwatch as a duo!

8BitDylan and Delphron met through their love of games. At first, it was tough tackling their relationship with an ocean between them. While difficult to manage between two time zones, they made it work because of the love they have for each other. Streaming on Twitch has been an amazing outlet for them to play games with one another and interact with both of their communities at the same time. Where they met playing Minecraft, they now go on adventures together in a wealth of different games and bring viewers along for the ride.

CharlieStMonica and Stronk met on Twitch in 2016 and have been inseparable ever since. Stronk often streams Overwatch and a variety of other games/creative while Charlie focuses on painting in Creative, and some Overwatch and The Sims! They are the proud owners of three cats — Hamsteak, Lambchop, and Meatball — and bond over their love of pho and tacos.

Tim and Nicole are a married couple who are known for streaming games together while incorporating workout breaks. From cooking streams that sometimes get too lit to shaking their glutes during Just Dance duets to competitive gaming with desalinating workouts, these lifelong gamers and fitness professionals love sharing their passion, knowledge, and a lot of laughs together on stream. When they’re not training fellow Twitch streamers, they enjoy a good bad joke, snuggles with their two cats, and delicious slice of pizza.

UmiNoKaiju and RFGaming101aim to bring the world together. From games to dinner table conversations, love and laughter are the keys to bringing happiness among ourselves. Twitch isn’t just a world of gaming for them, it’s a growing family.

Did you meet your significant other on Twitch? Share your love stories with us via Twitter and Instagram by using the hashtag #FeelTheLove.

Over the years we’ve seen all sorts of creators and viewers connect through Twitch. After all, one of the things that makes Twitch unique is the back and forth between streamer and viewer. Tuning in to watch and chat with a favorite creator is always appreciated, but some viewers also Cheer with Bits or share amazing clips with the world. Those viewers deserve to be recognized by creators and their communities, so today, we’re upping the ante for those who go above and beyond. This one is for the fans.

Make room for Clip Champs, rolling out today, and Top Cheerers, coming soon™. Also, try saying that first part five times fast.

Clip Champs is a new way to recognize top clippers who consistently create and share quality clips of their favorite creators.

Viewers who create clips for a specific channel across four distinct weeks in a month and have over 50 combined views on those clips will receive the exclusive “Clip Champ” chat badge. Clip Champs will also have their status appear on other parts of Twitch where clips are found, such as on clips viewing pages and clips tabs of a channel or game page. For more details on Clip Champs and how to become one, check out our help article. At launch, those who qualify as a Clip Champ based on their clipping history in December and January will be notified of their Clip Champ status.

Maybe Cheering is more your style? Top Cheerers, as you may have guessed from the very obvious name, is a pinned leaderboard that displays the top three Cheerers in the channel at the top of chat. The leaderboard can also be expanded to show the top 10 Cheerers, as well as your current position.

Viewers that Cheer enough to make it to the top 3 will unlock access to special chat badges. Behold!

Top Cheerers is launching at the end of this month, so stay tuned.

Lastly, we’ve got something for those of you who have Cheered the loudest. We’re introducing these 10 beautiful new Bits badges for all of you who have Cheered above 1 million Bits. You’ll start seeing these badges appear at the end of this month.

However you support your favorite creators, thank you for being a part of the community. Wear those badges with pride, and we’ll see you on the leaderboards.

FAQ

How can I track my progress toward becoming a Clip Champ?

We are currently actively exploring ways to provide viewers with a simple method for tracking their progress toward becoming a Clip Champ. In the meantime, viewers can use the Clips Manager to see the number of views for their clips.

I’m a Twitch creator. What are the benefits of having Clip Champs for my channel?

Clips is a simple way for any viewer to help your channel grow by reaching and engaging audiences with short, bite-sized videos that showcase exciting, interesting moments from a creator’s content. Clip Champs are viewers who consistently create and share engaging clips, so the more Clip Champs are a part of your community, the more viewers you have who can support you by curating the best of your content to new and existing audiences.

How often does Clip Champs status reset?

Clip Champs statuses reset monthly. Users are notified of achieving Clip Champ status on the first of the month, and the status lasts until the end of that month.

If I make one of the top 3 spots for Top Cheerers and unlock a badge, how long do I get to keep it?

If you unlock a Top Cheerer badge, you keep it for as long as you keep that ranking. If you are in the #1 spot and someone overtakes you, they will get the #1 badge right away, and you will then have the #2 badge until and unless someone overtakes you in the #2 spot. If the creator has Top Cheerers set to “Weekly,” the leaderboard resets every 7 days at which point all 3 badges disappear until someone Cheers enough to take one of the top 3 spots.

Once Top Cheerers launches, what happens to Pinned Cheers (Pin Top Cheer and Pin Recent Cheer)?

Top Cheerers replaces Pin Top Cheer, making it possible to recognize many more Cheerers rather than just one. Pin Top Cheer will no longer be available. Pin Recent Cheer will still be available and will work the same as before.

As a Partner or Affiliate, can I reset Top Cheerers at any time?

If you have Top Cheerers set to “Weekly,” it will automatically reset every 7 days. If you have it set to “All-Time” to show the top Cheerers of all time, there is no reset.

If someone is banned from my channel, can they still show up in Top Cheerers?

Love is in the air this month, and we love seeing you broadcast your creativity. Whether you like to transform yourself into a pirate, warrior, assassin, or a pirate warrior assassin, you’ll adore our featured creators in this month’s Cosplay Showcase!

Being a fan of anime, and watching what cosplayers have been able to do has inspired ArtcoreCosplay to join their ranks four years ago. So far, her all-time favorite cosplay was Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn. “Aloy means a lot to me and her costume was very challenging and seeing the result just makes me incredibly proud.”Artcore’s welcoming and positive community embrace all newcomers to the stream, and share fantastic puns. Currently she is working on a Senua cosplay from the game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.

LeapingLizard got started in cosplay 11 years ago because what she saw others making inspired her to try her own hand. Many of her cosplays have different meanings and all hold a special place in her heart, but Meru from Legend of Dragoon holds a special place. “After getting my first photoshoot photos back of Meru, I felt proud for all it took for me to make her happen, and I really felt beautiful.” Join LeapingLizard and her community to see her working on her Dark Souls 3 Fire Keeper cosplay!

SKSProps got into cosplay 5 years ago thanks to his love of video games, especially Borderlands. Each of his costumes that he creates is special; however, his favorite was also his most challenging one to date: the Gears of War Theron Guard which won the TwitchCon 2017 Cosplay Contest. “This costume is not only the most detailed but the largest build I have attempted. The suit required both arm and leg extension as well as a scratch built muscle suit. Honestly it’s not just a costume, but a full body transformation.” Come join his community to see his progress on his current project (Wasteland Alice), digital illustration, and get some inspiration for your own projects!

Having loved costumes all of her life, it’s not a surprise that six years ago Cinerdella got into cosplay! In that time, her favorite cosplay was Captain Jack Sparrow as it was a different gender and something she’s not done before. Currently, Cinerdella is working on a Nuka Girl cosplay from Fallout 4. Tune in to her streams for cosplay, music, 3D printing, and a welcoming and inclusive community happy for new members!

The full schedule for all of the front page streams is below:

Would you like a chance for your channel to be featured as part of the Cosplay Showcase? You can apply by going to fill out this form!

Today, we’re sharing an update to our Community Guidelines. This is just the first of many improvements coming to the policies, moderation processes, and safety features on Twitch.

We use our Community Guidelines to keep the community strong and safe. These guidelines detail the content supported on Twitch, rules for streamers and viewers, and much more. Our goal is to ensure Twitch is a place where everyone feels welcome and we will continue to listen to you as we grow and adapt these policies as needed.

The story so far

Twitch began with a single core idea: stream video games online. That simple hook attracted viewers, but they stuck around because you, the streamers, built communities. You built a place viewers felt welcome, a place they could turn to for laughter, gameplay, or friendship. And, as you began to inject more of your personality and interests, you told us you wanted the freedom to create content when you weren’t gaming. So, last year, we loosened our restrictions on non-gaming content.

This let you bring as much of your life to Twitch as you wanted. It let you broaden your community or build new communities in areas like board gaming, talk shows, Creative, music, fitness, and IRL (to name just a few). By sharing yourself on Twitch, you let Twitch become part of your life, and we’re grateful for that privilege.

Over the past several months, you’ve told us certain sections of our Community Guidelines were not clear enough, or, in some cases, not strong enough to govern this ever-changing landscape. And we were too slow to act. To begin addressing this, we’re rolling out a series of updates to the policies, moderation processes, and products that guide interpersonal interaction on Twitch.

Today’s update focuses on our anti-harassment and sexual content policies. Our goal is to increase clarity, strength, and consistency across our entire moderation framework, as well as the frequency and level of detail of our moderation communications.

You helped us build Twitch — you ARE Twitch — and it’s our job to make you proud of the Twitch community.

Anti-harassment and hateful conduct policies

We want everyone to not only feel welcome on Twitch, but to be proud to be part of the community. To that end, we are strengthening our stance on harassment and hate.

First, conduct we deem to be hateful will result in an immediate indefinite suspension. Hate simply has no place in the Twitch community.

Additionally, we will now consider verifiable hateful or harassing conduct that takes place off-Twitch when making moderation decisions for actions that occur on Twitch. If you use other services to direct hate or harassment towards someone on Twitch, we will consider it a violation of Twitch’s policies.

We are also updating our moderation framework to pay close attention to the context and intent in addition to the words or actions used. Please remember, even if you’re just joking with your friends, you’re still choosing to stream on a service that reaches a large audience.

Sexual content

Twitch is an open global community with users of many ages and cultures. Because of this, it’s important that your content is not sexual in nature. We’re updating our moderation framework to review your conduct in its entirety when evaluating if the intent is to be sexually suggestive. We’ll be looking at contextual elements such as the stream title, camera angles, emotes, panels, attire, overlays, and chat moderation. Offering access to prohibited sexual content such as “lewds” on Twitch remains prohibited.

Attire in gaming streams, most at-home streams, and all profile/channel imagery should be appropriate for a public street, mall, or restaurant. As a reminder, we will not tolerate using this policy as a basis to harass streamers on or off Twitch, regardless of whether you think they’re breaking this rule.

These new rules will go into effect on Monday, February 19th, 9:00 am Pacific Time. Until then, we’ll continue operating under the former Community Guidelines. You must remove Clips and VODs that violate the new guidelines before they go into effect.

During the transition period, we’ll be reaching out to some streamers whose current and past content may violate these new guidelines to help you be successful on Twitch. Our goal is to ensure everyone understands and adheres to the updated Community Guidelines so you can keep creating content for your communities.

A Better Twitch for Everyone

Guiding the community is an enormous responsibility and one we take to heart. Today’s updates are a major step forward and are just the beginning of our work. We’re committed to making you all feel welcome on Twitch and we will be increasing the frequency of communication, policy updates, and products to support this mission.

In the coming months, we will also be revisiting our enforcement policies for both partners and non-partners, our appeals process, IRL guidelines, and preventing user-to-user harassment. You can also expect significant improvements to AutoMod, Twitch’s automated chat moderation system.

Every day, tens of thousands of our streamers press the “Go Live” button and create amazing shared experiences for their communities. Whichever side of the screen you’re on, thank you for making Twitch the special place it is. We will continue doing our part to make Twitch even better.

Thank you,

Twitch

FAQ Update:

Q: I don’t have an easy way to go through all of my old content. Should I delete everything?

A: No. Your content is important to your community! Starting February 19, 2018, all content on the site is subject to enforcement of the new guidelines. We expect creators to make a good faith effort to remove any hateful, harassing, and sexually suggestive content from their channel during the grace period.

If reported, content that violates the new guidelines and that was created before the new guidelines come into effect will be removed without suspension, but we reserve the right to exercise discretion on severe violations. For information about how to review and delete individual Clips and VODs, check out their respective help.twitch.tv articles: How to Manage Clips & VOD on Twitch.

Join resident sneaker aficionados Ray “Hyberbeast” Li and Zhi Chew as they run through hot new releases, emerging trends, and their own personal style tips every week.

Of course, it wouldn’t be FreshStock without weekly visits from style icons, athletes, and other fashion-forward community guests. We won’t spoil all the surprises we have in store for this season, but we will say that the NBA and NFL fans out there are in for a treat.

For starters, longtime NBA player Jared Jeffries will be joining the FreshStock crew live on February 15 to run through some of his favorite picks and kicks out in the wild right now. You might recognize Jeffries from his basketball career with teams like the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards, but his latest work sees him representing the esports world as the president of Echo Fox with teams in League of Legends, Super Smash Bros., and more.

And later on this season Rodger Saffold of the Los Angeles Rams will be stopping by the studio to talk shop and offer the Twitch community a look at his own personal sneaker collection.

If you’re new to the wild world of sneaker culture or just itching for something to hold you over until Season 3 kicks off, episodes from the first two seasons of FreshStock can be found right here.

It’s February already? That snuck up on us fast, but now that we’re nice and settled into 2018 we thought it would be the perfect time to get a little nostalgic for 2017.

Yes, it’s time for our annual Year in Review. This year we wanted to illustrate some of the Twitch Community’s biggest moments and milestones in the highest of art forms. Yes, of course we’re talking about comics.

But before you start reading, thank you to the entire Twitch Community for helping to make 2017 one for the record books. Every streamer, chatter, and yes even you lurkers out there, all played a part. So without further ado, we invite you to take a trip down recent memory lane with our 2017 Twitch Year in Review.

Get ready to drop some dimes with this week’s Twitch Prime Legend QB Daunte Culpepper, with an 83 OVR!

Culpepper was a big-time QB, literally. At 6’4 250, he had a cannon arm, the strength of a fullback, and the footwork of Kenny Loggins. He cut loose for a career total of 149 TD’s, 24,153 passing yards, and 34 rushing TD’s. He made the Pro Bowl 3x First-team All-Pro 2x, and was the NFL passing yards leader in 2004. Normally QB’s are the ones scared of d-lineman, but with Daunte it was the other way around. They bounced right off him!Daunte retired in 2009, but his play lives on forever. Do yourself a favor and search for ‘Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss’ on the internet. And order some popcorn while you’re at it.About Twitch Prime LegendsWe’re teaming up with EA Sports Madden NFL 18 to give Twitch Prime Members at least an 83 rated Madden Ultimate Team Twitch Prime Legend and Collectible every week from 8/22–2/3. That’s up to 25 retired NFL ballers for you to add to your roster, plus collectibles to jack up their stats to a 90 OVR.When you join Twitch Prime, you can claim your 83 rated Daunte Culpepper + 1 Collectible in addition to an 85 OVR Reggie White + 5 Collectibles, allowing you to automatically start with a 90 OVR Legend immediately. So start a free 30-day trial, or link your current Prime account to Twitch here.NOTE: Throughout the promotion, Twitch Prime Legends will be available to players who have claimed them for 30 days after the Twitch Prime Legend is release. Players must log into Madden at least once every 30 days to receive weekly content.Watch Thursday Night Football With your Prime MembershipThat’s not all Prime Members get this Football Season! Starting September 28th we’ll be streaming select TNF games on Prime Video, where we’ll reveal the upcoming week’s Legend.Watch Twitch Streams to Get Even More MUT Content!As if that weren’t enough, Twitch viewers can earn even more goodies just for watching their favorite Madden broadcasters — all through the magic of Twitch Drops. Every Friday from now until the end of the NFL season, we’re teaming up with EA Sports to feature select members of the Madden streaming community. Tune into one of these Friday streams and you’ll have a chance to win a Madden Ultimate Team pack. To find out which channels are part of the fun throughout the season, be sure to keep an eye on twitch.tv/eamaddennfl.To learn more about our Madden benefits go to twitch.amazon.com/madden.

What is Twitch Prime?

Twitch Prime is a new premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, ad-free viewing on Twitch, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a prime member. See all the Twitch Prime benefits here.

Check out the full list of Amazon Prime benefits in: US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain. You can try it for free for 30 days right here, and when you do, you get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.

Prime NowOne and two-hour delivery on tens of thousands of items from Amazon and local stores. Check out Prime Now.

Get a FREE legendary dragon mount, and more, by joining Twitch Prime before March 5th!

· Tysorion, Steward of New Beginnings

This gorgeous legendary dragon mount lets you travel in style as you glide the Trovian skies and unleash powerful fire breath attacks on all who stand in your way.

· Hexium Holocycle

The Hexium Holocycle is a high tech motorcycle mount that zips through the many worlds of Trove leaving a laser light trail in your wake.

· Shield Servitor

This ally will stay by your side on your travels and grant you bonus energy regeneration while reducing incoming damage you take from enemies by 20%!

If you’ve never played Trove before it’s available for FREE on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Grab your friends, hone your blades, and set off for adventure! Battle the forces of Shadow in realms filled with incredible dungeons and items created by your fellow players. Whether hunting treasure in far-off lands or building realms of your own, it’s never been this good to be square!

Jump on this FREE legendary loot now because this deal comes to an end on March 5, 2018.

What is Twitch Prime?

Twitch Prime is a new premium experience on Twitch that is included with Amazon Prime. Benefits include monthly in-game loot, ad-free viewing on Twitch, a channel subscription every 30 days AND all the benefits of being a prime member. See all the Twitch Prime benefits here.

Check out the full list of Amazon Prime benefits in: US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Spain. You can try it for free for 30 days right here, and when you do, you get all the Twitch Prime benefits instantly just by linking your Twitch account to your Amazon account.

Prime NowOne and two-hour delivery on tens of thousands of items from Amazon and local stores. Check out Prime Now.

The popularity of Twitch would eclipse that of its general-interest counterpart; in October 2013, the website had 45 million unique viewers,[3]:38 and by February 2014, it was considered the fourth largest source of peak Internet traffic in the United States. At the same time, Justin.tv's parent company was re-branded as Twitch Interactive to represent the shift in focus – Justin.tv was shut down in August 2014. That month, the service was acquired by Amazon for $970 million, which later led to the introduction of synergies with the company's subscription service Amazon Prime. Twitch later acquired Curse, an operator of online video gaming communities, and introduced means to purchase games through links on streams, along with a program allowing streamers to receive commissions on the sales of games that they play.

In 2015, Twitch announced it had more than 1.5 million broadcasters and 100 million visitors per month.[4] As of Q3 2017, Twitch still remains the leading live streaming video service for video games in the US, and has an advantage over YouTube Gaming.[5][6]

History

When Justin.tv was launched in 2007 by Justin Kan and Emmett Shear, the site was divided into several content categories. The gaming category grew especially fast, and became the most popular content on the site.[7] In June 2011,[3]:40 the company decided to spin off the gaming content as Twitch.TV, inspired by the term twitch gameplay. It launched officially in public beta on June 6, 2011.[8] Since then, Twitch has attracted more than 35 million unique visitors a month.[9][10] Twitch had about 80 employees in June 2013,[11] which increased to 100 by December 2013.[3] The company was headquartered in San Francisco's Financial District.[3]

Twitch has been supported by significant investments of venture capital, with US$15 million in 2012 (on top of US$7 million originally raised for Justin.tv),[12][13] and US$20 million in 2013.[14] Investors during three rounds of fund raising leading up to the end of 2013 included Draper Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners and Thrive Capital.[3]:40 In addition to the influx of venture funding, it was believed in 2013 that the company had become profitable.[3]:40

Especially since the shutdown of its direct competitor Own3d.tv in early 2013, Twitch has become the most popular e-sports streaming service by a large margin, leading some to conclude that the website has a "near monopoly on the market".[15] Competing video services, such as YouTube and Dailymotion, began to increase the prominence of their gaming content to compete, but have had a much smaller impact so far.[16][17] As of mid-2013, there were over 43 million viewers on Twitch monthly, with the average viewer watching an hour and a half a day.[18] As of February 2014, Twitch is the fourth largest source of Internet traffic during peak times in the United States, behind Netflix, Google, and Apple. Twitch makes up 1.8% of total US Internet traffic during peak periods.[19]

Growth, acquisition speculation

On February 10, 2014, Twitch's parent company Justin.tv, Inc. was renamed Twitch Interactive, reflecting the increased prominence of the service over Justin.tv as the company's main business.[20] That same month, a stream known as Twitch Plays Pokémon, a crowdsourced attempt to play Pokémon Red using a system translating chat commands into game controls, went viral; by February 17, the channel had reached over 6.5 million total views since its introduction five days prior, and was averaging concurrent viewership between 60 and 70 thousand viewers, with at least 10% participating. Vice President of Marketing Matthew DiPietro praised the stream, considering it "one more example of how video games have become a platform for entertainment and creativity that extends WAY beyond the original intent of the game creator. By merging a video game, live video and a participatory experience, the broadcaster has created an entertainment hybrid custom made for the Twitch community. This is a wonderful proof of concept that we hope to see more of in the future."[21][22] Beginning with its 2014 edition, Twitch was made the official live streaming platform of the Electronic Entertainment Expo.[23]

August 2014 changes

On August 5, 2014, the original Justin.tv site was abruptly shut down, citing a need to focus resources entirely on Twitch.[29][30][31] On August 6, 2014, Twitch introduced an updated archive system, with multi-platform access to highlights from past broadcasts by a channel, higher quality video, increased server backups, and a new Video Manager interface for managing past broadcasts and compiling "highlights" from broadcasts that can also be exported to YouTube. Due to technological limitations and resource requirements, the new system contained several regressions; the option to archive complete broadcasts on an indefinite basis ("save forever") was removed, meaning that they can only be retained for a maximum of 14 days, or 60 for partners and Turbo subscribers. While compiled highlights can be archived indefinitely, they were limited to two hours in length.[32][33] Additionally, all on-demand videos became subject to acoustic fingerprinting using software provided by Audible Magic; if copyrighted music (particularly, songs played by users from outside of the game they are playing) is detected, the 30-minute portion of the video which contains the music will be muted. Live broadcasts are not subject to these filters.[34][35]

The audio filtering system, along with the lack of communication surrounding the changes in general, proved to be controversial among users. In particular, users felt that the new filtering system was too inaccurate, flagged music played within games themselves, and voiced concerns that it could affect the service's ability to present footage from games which notably include large amounts of licensed music, such as the Grand Theft Auto series. The change also drew comparisons to the similar policies employed by YouTube—especially given the rumors surrounding Google's bid to purchase the service. In a Reddit AMA, co-founder Emmett Shear admitted that his staff had "screwed up" and should have provided advance warning of the changes, and promised that Twitch had "absolutely no intention" of implementing audio filtering on live broadcasts.[36] On August 7, 2014, the 2-hour length limit on highlights was again removed, and an appeals process was added for flagged audio contained within on-demand recordings.[37] In January 2015, to further rectify these issues, Twitch introduced a royalty-free music library featuring tracks from various independent labels cleared for use in streams.[38]

Amazon.com subsidiary (2014–present)

On August 25, 2014, it was announced that Amazon.com would acquire Twitch Interactive for US$970 million.[39][40] The deal was expected to be finalized by the end of 2014.[2][41] Sources reported that the rumored Google deal had fallen through and allowed Amazon to make the bid; Forbes reported that Google had backed out of the deal due to potential antitrust concerns surrounding it and its existing ownership of YouTube.[42] The acquisition was closed on September 25, 2014.[43]

Twitch is now operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com, with Emmett Shear remaining as CEO. Shear touted the Amazon Web Services platform as an "attractive" aspect of the deal, and that Amazon had "built relationships with the big players in media," which could be used to the service's advantage—particularly in the realm of content licensing. The purchase of Twitch marked the third recent video gaming–oriented acquisition by Amazon, which had previously acquired the developers Reflexive Entertainment and Double Helix Games.[44]

On December 9, 2014, Twitch announced it had acquired GoodGame Agency, an organization that owns the eSports teams Evil Geniuses and Alliance.[45][46] In March 2015, Twitch reset all user passwords and disabled all connections to external Twitter and YouTube accounts, after the service reported that someone had gained "unauthorized access" to the user information of some Twitch users.[47]

In June 2016, Twitch added a new feature known as "Cheering", a special form of emoticon purchased as a microtransaction using an in-site currency known as "Bits". Bits are bought using Amazon Payments, and cheers act as donations to the channel. Users also earn badges within a channel based on how much they have cheered.[48]

On August 16, 2016, Twitch acquired Curse, Inc., an operator of online video gaming communities and gaming-oriented VoIP software.[49] In December 2016, GoodGame Agency was divested by Amazon to their respective members due to conflict of interest concerns.[50] On September 30, 2016, Twitch announced Twitch Prime, a service which provides premium features that are exclusive to users who have an active Amazon Prime subscription. This includes advertising-free streaming, and monthly offers of free add-on content ("Game Loot") and game discounts.[51]

In December 2016, Twitch announced a semi-automated chat moderation tool, which uses natural language processing and machine learning to set aside potentially unwanted content for human review.[52] In February 2017, Twitch announced that it would allow users to purchase games through the service, with major launch partners such as Paradox Interactive, Telltale Games, and Ubisoft. Links to purchase an eligible game will be displayed within Twitch's browsing interface, and partners can opt to display a purchase button on their stream when an eligible game is being played. If a game is bought via a stream's purchase link, the respective channel receives a 5% commission on the sale. Users also receive a "Twitch Crate" on every purchase, which includes Bits and a collection of random emoticons.[53][54][55]

Twitch and Blizzard Entertainment signed a two-year deal in June 2017 to make Twitch be the exclusive streaming broadcaster of select Blizzard eSports championship events, with viewers under Twitch Prime earning special rewards in various Blizzard games.[56]

In August 2017, Twitch announced it had acquired video indexing platform ClipMine.[57]

In January 2018, Twitch announced a two-year exclusive deal on the Overwatch League with Blizzard with reports calling it the largest esports deal[59][60]

Content and audience

Twitch is designed to be a platform for hot content, including eSports shorts tournaments, personal streams of individual players, and gaming-related talk shows.[61] A number of channels do live speedrunning.[62] The Twitch homepage currently displays games based on viewership. The typical viewer is male and aged between 18 and 34 years of age, although the site has also made attempts at pursuing other demographics, including women.[18][63] As of December 2016 some of the most popular games streamed on Twitch are League of Legends, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Hearthstone, and Dota 2 with a combined total of over 174 million hours watched.[64]

On October 28, 2015, Twitch launched a second non-gaming category, "Creative", which is intended for streams showcasing the creation of artistic and creative works. To promote the launch, the service also streamed an eight-day marathon of Bob Ross'The Joy of Painting.[70] In July 2016, Twitch launched "Social eating" as a beta; it was inspired by the Korean phenomenon of Muk-bang and Korean players having engaged in the practice as intermissions on their gaming streams.[71]

In March 2017, Twitch added an "IRL" channel that allows users to stream video doing just about anything.[72] The channel is normally in the top 10 most watched channels. Former Twitch IRL streamer Paul "Ice Poseidon" Denino was described by Will Partin of Rolling Stone as a "pioneer 'life streamer'" who "streams several hours of his conspicuously eventful life almost every single day."[73]

Charity

Broadcasters on Twitch often host streams promoting and raising money towards charity. By 2013, the website has hosted events which, in total, raised over US$8 million in donations for charitable causes, such as Extra Life 2013.[75] As of 2017 the website has raised over US$75 million in donations for charitable causes. [76]

Lag issues

In late 2013, particularly due to increasing viewership and using a legacyAdobe Flash plugin to present video to desktop users, Twitch had issues with lag, predominantly in Europe.[16] Twitch has subsequently added new servers in the region.[77] Also in order to address these problems, Twitch implemented a new video system shown to be more efficient than the previous system. Initially, the new video system was criticized by users because it caused a significant stream delay, interfering with broadcaster-viewer interaction.[78] Twitch staff said that the increased delay was likely temporary and at the time, was an acceptable tradeoff for the decrease in buffering.[79]

Emotes

Twitch features a large number of emoticons called emotes. There are emotes free for all users, emotes for Turbo users, emotes for Twitch Prime users, and emotes for users who are subscribed to Twitch partners.[86] Kappa is the most used emote on Twitch.[87] Twitch partnered broadcasters unlock more "emote slots" as they gain more subscribers up to a maximum of 50 emotes per channel. [88]

Partner and affiliate programs

In July 2011, Twitch launched its Partner Program,[89] which reached 4,000 members as of June 2013[10] As of 2015, there are 11,000 partnered Twitch streamers.[90]

Similar to the Partner Program of other video sites like YouTube, the Partner Program allows popular content producers to share in the advertisement revenue generated from their streams. Additionally, Twitch users can subscribe to partnered streamers' channels for US$4.99 a month, often granting the user access to unique emoticons, live chat privileges, and other various perks. Twitch retains US$2.50 of every US$4.99 channel subscription, with the remaining US$2.49 going directly to the partnered streamer.[91] Although exceptions can be made, Twitch requires that prospective partners have an "average concurrent viewership of 500+", as well as a consistent streaming schedule of at least three days a week.[92]Amazon Prime subscribers may freely subscribe to a user once every 30 days.[51] On April 19, 2017, Twitch announced that it would allow channels to offer higher-priced subscription tiers alongside the lowest US$4.99 tier.[93]

In April 2017, Twitch launched its Affiliate Program[94] that allows smaller channels to generate revenue as well. The participants of this program get some, but not all of the benefits of the Twitch Partners. As of April 26,[95] the streamers could make profit from cheering with Bits which are purchasable from Twitch directly. As of June 27, affiliates are now able to access the Twitch Subscriptions feature, with all the same functionality that Partners have access to, alongside one subscribe emote.[96] Affiliates are currently unable to receive revenue from ads, but Twitch has stated they plan to introduce this functionality in the future. The criteria to qualify to the affiliate program is currently as follows:

Have at least 500 total minutes broadcast in the last 30 days.

Have at least 7 unique broadcast days in the last 30 days.

Have an average of 3 concurrent viewers or more over the last 30 days.

Have at least 50 Followers.

Advertising on the site has been handled by a number of partners. In 2011, Twitch had an exclusive deal with Future US.[97] On April 17, 2012, Twitch announced a deal to give CBS Interactive the rights to exclusively sell advertising, promotions and sponsorships for the community.[63][98] On June 5, 2013, Twitch announced the formation of the Twitch Media Group, a new in-house advertisement sales team which has taken over CBS Interactive's role of selling advertisements.[10]

Platform support

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear has stated a desire to support a wide variety of platforms, stating that they wanted to be on "every platform where people watch video".[18] Twitch streaming apps are available for mobile devices and video game consoles, including Android and iOS,[99] as well as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360 video game consoles.[100][101][102]

As a teaching tool

A 2017 study examined and compared the teaching performance of novices and experts in video game instruction.[115] Over Twitch, novices can educate to similar levels to experts. People who score high on agreeableness or neuroticism (two of the Big Five personality traits) learn better from novice instructors than do those who score lower on either scale. The nature of Twitch also allows learners to interact with each other and the instructor. Extroverts benefit from this interaction while introverts do not.[115]